BJP's narrative on Rs 100 crore grant for Urdu is misleading, communal: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru: Chief minister
Tuesday hit back at
over its criticism of the govt's allocation of Rs 100 crore to foster Urdu, accusing the opposition party of deliberately stoking communal tension.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
BJP had criticised the move, ridiculing Congress with posters and memes that were widely shared on social media.
Clarifying the intent behind the allocation, Siddaramaiah, said: "Rs 100 crore is to upgrade Urdu-medium schools with better classrooms, teachers, textbooks, and infrastructure. This is not just for language, but for the overall improvement of schools that serve many students. We demand that BJP immediately issue a public clarification and apologise to the people of the state for this dangerous and divisive propaganda.
"
He lashed out at BJP for linking the grant to religious appeasement. "This is a deliberate attempt to incite communal tension," he said.
Emphasising that no language should be reduced to a religious or caste identity, Siddaramaiah said, "Linking a language to a particular caste or religion is disrespectful to that language," and added, "the Karnataka govt respects all languages of the state."
He pointed out that his govt supports multiple regional languages through dedicated academies.
"That is why we have separate academies for Tulu, Konkani, Kodava, Byari, and Arebhashe, each of which gets a grant of Rs 80 lakh a year, plus extra funding for cultural activities," he said.
Rejecting BJP's allegation that Kannada is being sidelined, Siddaramaiah said, "They are spreading a false narrative that the state govt is neglecting Kannada and giving more funds to Urdu. This is not just far from the truth — it is a deliberate attempt to create communal tension.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
It is unfortunate that a national party is acting like irresponsible internet trolls and spreading such baseless lies."
To underline the govt's support for Kannada, Siddaramaiah listed major allocations, saying: "For 2025-26, the govt has allocated Rs 34,438 crore to the department of primary and secondary education; Rs 4,150 crore to schools under the social welfare and other departments. That's a total of Rs 38,688 crore.
All meant for Kannada-medium education. In addition, Rs 999.3 crore has been set aside to maintain govt schools and improve infrastructure.
All of this is to support Kannada education. So, when BJP claims that only Rs 32 crore is given to Kannada, it is clearly a political lie meant to mislead the people."
Siddaramaiah also highlighted institutional support for Kannada through a dedicated department. "For Kannada, the govt has a dedicated department of Kannada and culture, which runs 14 academies, three authorities, and 24 trusts named after Kannada writers," he said. "They work to promote the Kannada language, literature, and heritage. For Congress, Kannada is not just a language, it is our identity, pride, and mother tongue.
Our govt has always stood firmly for Kannada, for Karnataka, and for our people. We will never compromise on protecting our land, water, or language. And we will never tolerate disrespect towards our culture."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Wire
3 minutes ago
- The Wire
Priests Oppose UP Govt's Plan to Set up Trust For Management of Vrindavan's Banke Bihari Temple
Menu हिंदी తెలుగు اردو Home Politics Economy World Security Law Science Society Culture Editor's Pick Opinion Support independent journalism. Donate Now Government Priests Oppose UP Govt's Plan to Set up Trust For Management of Vrindavan's Banke Bihari Temple The Wire Staff 7 minutes ago Priests from the Goswami sect have been managing the temple since the last few hundred years. Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh. Photo: Real journalism holds power accountable Since 2015, The Wire has done just that. But we can continue only with your support. Contribute now New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh government's decision to set up a trust for the management of Banke Bihari Mandir in Vrindavan has sparked opposition from priests in Mathura who has termed the move of the BJP government in the state as 'anti-Brahmin.' 'It was because of the penance of our ancestors that God had appeared here. The temple became revered under their supervision, but the government is now taking it over on the pretext of regulating its management,' said Tarachand Goswami, the former chairman of the temple on Wednesday (June 4) reported The Telegraph. Another priest, Vishnu Goswami accused the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led government of deliberately trying to snatch the livelihood of Brahmins. Last week, the state government had cleared an ordinance that paved the way for setting up the Shri Banke Bihariji Mandir Nyas Trust. The trust is entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing the management of the shrine and its everyday rituals. Priests from the Goswami sect have been managing the temple since the last few hundred years. Some Goswami priests have said that if the government didn't review its decision to take over the temple's management, they will take away the idol, which they say was installed by their ancestors in 1864. A government that confiscates temples cannot be secular. The government is constantly trying to regulate religion with an ulterior motive. The government appears against the Goswami tradition and wants to have its official priests,' said Swami Avimukteshwaranand, the Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath in Uttarakhand who has been staying in Mathura since last few days. The government has said that the trust is essential for the construction of a Banke Bihari Corridor around the temple at a cost of Rs. 500 crore. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments. Make a contribution to Independent Journalism Related News Fifth Acting DGP in a Row: Why Uttar Pradesh Still Lacks a Permanent Police Chief Interview | 'National Leadership Will Decide on Alliance But UP Congress Is Focusing on All 403 Seats' Days After Cow Vigilante Rampage in Aligarh, Forensic Report Belies Beef Allegations 'They Would Have Abused Vyomika Singh Too if They Knew She was a Dalit': Senior SP Leader's Dig at BJP UP: Over Two Dozen People Arrested for 'Anti-National' and 'Misleading' Posts on Operation Sindoor Row Over Army Statement That India's Air Defence System Shielded Golden Temple From Pakistan's Strikes Karnataka Temple Trust Issues Apology to Muslims After BJP MLA's Inflammatory Speech Temple Politics and Attack on Migrants Are Escalating Tensions Between Bengal and Odisha Andhra: N. Chandrababu Naidu and His Ministers – Including 8 First-Time MLAs – Take Oath View in Desktop Mode About Us Contact Us Support Us © Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
Time of India
3 minutes ago
- Time of India
No one needed to tell India to stop, didn't need any mediation: Tharoor on Op Sindoor
India respects American presidency but New Delhi has "never wanted to ask anyone to mediate" and no one needed to tell us to 'stop', Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said, amid repeated claims by US President Donald Trump of his role in the recent conflict between India and Pakistan . "All I can say is that we have enormous respect for the American presidency and the American president. All we can say for ourselves is that we have never particularly wanted to ask anyone to mediate," said Tharoor, the leader of the all-party parliamentary delegation which arrived here on Tuesday afternoon and began its packed day of meetings with lawmakers and government officials on Wednesday. During an interaction at the National Press Club here on Wednesday, Tharoor stressed that India had no real difficulty in speaking the same language as the Pakistanis. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Switch to UnionBank Rewards Card UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Also Read: NDA govt devoted to welfare of poor, committed to building self-reliant India: PM Modi "As long as they use the language of terrorism , we will use the language of force. That doesn't require a third party," he said. Live Events The delegation comprising MPs Sarfaraz Ahmad, Ganti Harish Madhur Balayogi, Shashank Mani Tripathi, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Milind Deora, Tejasvi Surya, and India's former ambassador to the US Taranjit Sandhu, arrived from India in New York on May 24, and travelled to Guyana, Panama, Colombia and Brazil before arriving in Washington, the last leg of the tour to convey India's stance following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor . Tharoor said if Pakistan were to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism, "we can talk to them". "If they take serious actions to show they want to restore normal relationships with us, we can certainly talk to them again without needing an intermediary." "So it's not in any way a negative comment about the goodwill of people. During this conflict, as I said, in any case, India didn't need persuading to stop. No one needed to tell us to 'stop', because we were telling them the moment Pakistan stops, we're prepared to stop." "So if they, in turn, told the Pakistanis, 'you better stop, because Indians are willing to stop', and that was what they did, then that's a wonderful gesture on their part vis-a-vis Pakistan," Tharoor said. He added that "all we can say is that in our conversations, some of these things didn't come up". Also Read: Surely he's aware Pahalgam terrorists still not brought to justice: Congress on PM Modi's J&K visit Noting that he was saying this in a "constructive spirit", Tharoor said: "We have an enormous respect for the US, and we have a much more important, valuable strategic partnership with Washington that we wouldn't want to jeopardise over a matter of detail. We are interested, talking at the moment about a number of areas of cooperation, interested in enhancing all of that. So small matters can go by, and we can focus on tomorrow." Tharoor was responding to a question about India's response to the constant claim by Trump that he mediated in the conflict between India and Pakistan. He was also asked if this is a question the Congress party continues to ask back in India, and party leader Rahul Gandhi commented that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "surrendered" after receiving a phone call from Trump. Delegation member Deora said: "As far as the political question is concerned, I would like to express my admiration for Tharoor. I've known him for a long time. He always puts country before party." Surya, responding to Deora's comment, said: "Absolutely." In response to a question on what role the US had in encouraging talks between India and Pakistan, Tharoor said: "I think the US has understood for some time now that India has a very clear position that there will be no talks with a gun pointed at our head. It's not that we can't talk to Pakistan." "India can speak all the languages that Pakistanis speak. The problem is that we will not dialogue with people who are pointing a gun at our head. You're not going to talk to people who are pointing a gun at your temples. It's not going to happen," Tharoor said. Also Read: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey slams Congress for "surrendering country's pride" by agreeing to Non-Attack Agreement with Pakistan Addressing reporters at a press conference at the Indian Embassy, Tharoor said that every time anybody asked, "and that includes on the Hill", if India would talk to Pakistan or if mediation would help promote dialogue, "our answer is very clear. We cannot talk to people who are pointing a gun at our head." "If your neighbour attacks your children with their attack dogs and then says, 'let's talk', will you talk to them until they put away the attack dogs?" Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, with India carrying out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7. Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9, and 10. The Indian side responded strongly to the Pakistani actions. The on-ground hostilities ended with an understanding of stopping the military actions following talks between the directors general of military operations of both sides on May 10.
New Indian Express
8 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Those who think working in national interest is anti-party activity need to question themselves: Tharoor
WASHINGTON: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said anybody who considers that working in the national interest is a sort of anti-party activity needs to question themselves rather than us. Tharoor is leading an all-party parliamentary delegation to the US to convey India's stance against terrorism following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. Frankly, when one is doing the nation's service, I don't think one needs to worry too much about these things, Tharoor said in an interview with PTI Videos on Wednesday. Tharoor was responding to a question that he was at the centre of the attention on the trip while leading the all-party delegation because some of his party members criticised his statements. On what his message would be to those party leaders upon returning to India, Tharoor said: I think anybody who sort of considers that working in the national interest is some sort of anti-party activity really needs to question themselves rather than us. I honestly feel at this point we are focused on a mission here, and we don't need to spend too much time worrying about what is said or not said in the heat of the moment by various individuals because for us the focus is on this much larger and more important message. When the time comes, we'll deal (with it), Tharoor said. The senior Congress leader said he noticed his friend Salman Khurshid asked if it was so difficult to be a patriot in India these days.
